Title: "The Burning and Building Of Bridges"

Spoilers: Everything up to and including X3: The Last Stand

Summary: Set just at the end of the third movie. What happened to Rogue and Bobby after he walked in on her at the end of X3?

Pairings: Rogue/Logan

Author's Notes: I was curious what would have happened when Bobby met Rogue in her old room at the end of the movie. It seemed a little ambiguous since Bobby looked like he was getting really into Kitty Pryde. I'm going to make a leap here and say he's moved on, and if he had, then Marie has just as much right to move on as well. Also, I make reference to the only other X-Men fic I wrote where Rogue told off Magneto on the X-Jet in the second movie. That's all that the reader needs to know, but if interested, the story is called, 'Playing With Fire.'

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Rogue looked up into Bobby's surprised face as they both stood in what once was, and what she hoped could still be, her room. The trip from the hospital had been extremely nerve-wracking for her, not just in imagining how her boyfriend would react, but also in her recent reintroduction to the rest of the human race.

When she'd left the school to go find the locations where the mutant cures were being given, Logan's words kept floating in her head.

Are you doing this for a guy, or are you doing it because you want to?

It'd still surprised her that he didn't just order her to stay in the school. Rogue felt touched that Logan had actually trusted her to make her own decisions.

I know I made the right choice, Rogue thought as she squeezed Bobby's hand, almost painfully.

Bobby looked confused at the touch and actually swallowed. "Rogue…I told you I didn't want you doing this for me."

"I did it for me," Rogue said with a smile. That was partially true. Not too many people out there could have known what it was like at always having a barrier between you and the rest of the world. To be so close to someone and yet so far away frustrated her to tears, especially when the whole world was cut off from her by a glove or a hood. The few times she and Bobby'd even risked kissing had been tantalizing, but vexingly short. For so long, she'd just wanted one long kiss that she could just enjoy, and with no dreading fear of leeching their power or memories.

Putting thoughts into deeds, she leaned over and kissed Bobby. Even now, there was that brief terror she'd know when she touched anyone for longer than a second. But the kiss kept going and her heart thudded at the sheer thrill of physical contact with someone she cared about. She'd held out from touching anyone after getting the shot. Oh, she'd touched the nurse briefly on the arm after she'd administered the cure, but she wanted one final test – one that mattered the most. From where she stood now, it'd been more than worth the wait.

There was just one thing wrong with this picture…Bobby wasn't quite kissing her back.

Rogue broke the kiss and placed a placating hand on his cheek. "Hey, it's alright. I'm not gonna steal your power, or have a part your mind bounce around in mine. Everything's okay now, and everything we've always wanted to do, we can do now."

Bobby actually blushed a little at the comment. He didn't say anything for a moment, but then took her hands in his. He licked his lips and said, "Rogue, when you left us, I thought…I mean, now that you're no longer a mutant, I just assumed…" His voice trailed off and he looked away, unable to look her in the eye.

Rogue's brow furrowed slightly as she tried to catch the other's eye. "I – I don't understand. What are you trying to say?" But before Bobby could say anything, however, the door to the room flew open right behind him.

"There you are!" said Kitty Pryde. "I've been looking all over for you! We're going to be so late, so if you're all set, we can just make the – "

Kitty caught sight of who was right in front of Bobby, as well as how close they were.

" – movie?" she finished.

Rogue's eyes widened slightly and a deep cold pit, colder than anything this person in front of her could ever produce, filled her stomach. She looked from one to the other, Bobby's guilty and Kitty's surprised expressions blurring slightly. She blinked several times, thinking this had to be a bad dream. A small voice in her mind, the one that had voiced doubts for the cure, said, You little fool! Eyes started to burn, but Rogue reeled in her swirling emotions. She would not cry. Not here and especially not in front of him. She pulled her hands away and let them hang limply at her sides.

"Rogue – " Bobby started, but stopped at a flash of anger from the former mutant's eyes.

Rogue quietly started to walk towards the door, not saying a single word. Bobby, however, still tried to explain.

"Rogue, please…I – I'm sorry…"

The woman stopped just at the threshold of the doorway. Slowly she looked over her shoulder, her gaze as cold as her voice.

"It's Marie. My name is Marie."

And with that, she walked out of the room.

oOoOo

"Good for you, furball," Logan said, as he watched news. Hank McCoy, newly named Ambassador to the United Nations, walked onscreen and shook the President's hand. Logan listened to his speech for a minute or two before getting bored. He muted the volume and walked out to the terrace. He sighed as the sun slowly sank in the horizon. After everything that had happened, it was good to see some good come out of all of this. With the news that the school was to reopen, new and returning students were still showing up at the door, willing, able and eager to return to their studies. Xavier would be proud that his legacy and his dreams were still being held true.

Logan's face clouded a bit. It still hit him hard remembering Xavier literally being torn apart by Jean. He hadn't known how much the old man had meant to him till he and Storm ran to the then vacant wheelchair and both started crying as they collapsed to their knees. Eyes slid over to the gravesite of the school's former headmaster. Xavier may have had his reasons for doing what he did, but Logan felt somewhat obliged to help Storm in running this school to keep his dream alive and as well as helping mutants out there. As his gaze wandered he caught sight of someone near the graves and he frowned.

Speaking of helping someone…

Logan walked out of his room and headed out of the mansion. Sitting close to where Jean, Scott and the Professor were laid to rest, sat a lone figure. A light breeze picked up and several strands of white hair whipped from the person's head. Logan came over and sat down quietly next to Marie, so as not to disturb her.

"How're you doing?" Logan asked.

Marie shrugged, but said nothing. A minute passed. She looked to say something, shook her head and then shut her mouth. Finally, after a long sigh, she said, "I always wondered what it would be like to be normal, to finally touch someone, to hug someone...to – " she faltered slightly " – finally kiss someone." Marie wiped away at her eyes and snorted bitterly. "Guess it wasn't all it's cracked up to be."

Logan blinked at what he just heard. "What's wrong?" And then another question hit him: "You…you took the drug?"

Instead of answering, Marie offered her hand to Logan. After looking from it, to Marie and back, he gently enfolded his hand in hers.

"I wonder now if it was worth it," she whispered, looking at the new graves for Jean and Scott. "Things didn't turn out quite the way I thought they would." She then looked over at the three graves. "Maybe if I wasn't so selfish, I could've done something for them."

"Hey, shh, shh," Logan said, scooting over and pulling her head on his shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for what happened. You had to follow your own choice. No one could've stopped what happened to Scott. As for Jean…" His voice trailed off.

Marie squeezed Logan's hand in understanding. She'd heard what happened. To have someone beg them to kill him or her so that they wouldn't be a danger to anyone anymore…Marie didn't know if she would've had the strength to do something like that. Truth be told, a small part of her wondered how she'd turn out if she'd had to continue the rest of her life with no physical contact. Not to mention, her psyche being whittled away every time she absorbed someone's memory. It might've been remotely possible that she could've gone insane. She shuddered at the thought and unconsciously snuggled closer to Logan.

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Logan said in concern.

Marie sighed. The wounds were still fresh but she figured she had to vent somehow. In a low voice, she explained what had recently happened with Bobby. To her surprise, Logan actually started to growl! He muttered something about slicing someone into ice cubes.

Marie looked up. "Don't worry about it, Logan. Honestly, the signs were there for a while. I was just a little blind to see them." She laughed bitterly. "I even saw the two of them ice skating a while back. That we lasted as long as we did says something. I hate what he did to me, I hate his sense of timing, but in the long run, I can't really blame him since he stuck with me for so long."

"Do you regret it? Taking the drug, I mean?" Logan asked quietly.

She said nothing for a few moments, lost in thought. "I guess…if Scott and Jean and the Professor were still around I wouldn't feel as bad. But at the time I walked into the hospital…it was a combination of things. When I heard about that cure, I thought of the first boy who kissed me. How he fell into a coma that lasted for months. I have to be careful 24/7, or else if I touch someone for too long, I could end up killing them." She looked up into Logan's eyes and could see understanding mirrored there. It had been only his miraculous healing abilities that had saved him after the last time he touched her. "I – I just couldn't do that to anyone." Now her face hardened. "I also remembered when Magneto used me as a disposable battery for his mutant-creation machine."

"Yeah, but you did get a chance to tell him off in the X-Jet when we were looking for Stryker," Logan said wryly.

"Bastard deserved more than that," Marie muttered.

"Oh, I think he got his just desserts." At Marie's confused look, Logan told her about Magneto's newly acquired, or newly lost, status.

"You're kidding!" Marie said, fighting a fit of giggles.

"Should've seen his face," Logan smugly said. It was good to have Marie laugh, even a little. Lord knew how much she'd been through lately. Both continued to chuckle for a few moments more. At the thought of all that happened to Marie, Logan frowned.

"You know…I just remembered something," he said.

"What?" Marie asked.

"When I kept Magneto occupied with me, McCoy drove those needles into his heart. I remember seeing that asshole's face and the first thought that came to mind was, 'That was for Rogue.' " Logan coughed and actually reddened a bit.

"Thank you," Marie shyly said.

Neither spoke for some time, both enjoying the moment in the waning rays of the sun, as well as the company of each other.

"Logan…there's something I have to tell you." She bit her lip. "Even though I dated Bobby, I never really had strong feelings for him. I guess maybe I liked the fact that someone stayed with me even though I never really could get close to him." She shrugged. "Sounds selfish, maybe. The thing is, I can set my sights on something I've wanted for a long time." Marie deliberately looked up at Logan.

Logan had a clue where this was heading and tried to head it off. "Marie…"

"Please, let me finish," Marie interrupted. "The fact the Bobby moved on that quickly kind of tells me that maybe he felt the same way." She gently pulled away and looked Logan right in the eye. "Maybe what I had when I first met you before might've been a crush, but after all this time, there's still something there. It might even have changed into something else."

When Logan didn't respond, Marie looked over at the Jean's grave. "You still love her, don't you?"

Logan bowed his head. "Even if I did, it wouldn't have mattered. In the end, Jean chose Scott. I respected that. It didn't blind me when I saw she was only screaming for help in the end. That's why I did what I had to do. Even though I helped her, there's a growing part of me that thinks I didn't deserve her. If Scott was there, knew what was going on with her, then maybe he could've brought her back. But look what happened to him."

Logan chewed on his lip. He wouldn't deny that there was something there when he thought of Marie. Often, it'd get overshadowed with thoughts of Jean. He was surprised how protective he was towards the girl, especially when they'd had to work with Magneto. Logan blinked. No, that's not quite true. She's definitely not a little girl anymore. Most of his life – well, most of which he could remember, anyway – he'd been mostly alone.

Even when he'd known what he was, he'd simply kept to himself, earning money by doing what he did best: getting into fights. And yet, in walked this girl who had no business in a bar, the two of them watching a news report on mutant registration. Only when the word 'mutant' was said, did they happen to glance at each other at the exact same time. Later on, she'd said she'd saved his life from an irate fighter he'd beaten that night. That hadn't been true, but a shotgun blast to his back might not have killed him, but it would have hurt like hell. Seeing her all alone had been the reason he'd given her a ride. Even after meeting Xavier and fighting Magneto and his merry band of not so nice mutants, he'd still needed answers to his life. Only Marie had come up to him, surprised at his leaving. He hadn't quite known why he'd done it, but he given to Marie for safekeeping the only thing that meant anything to him: his dog tag.

Maybe there was something there as well, but a part of him didn't want to be some kind of rebound.

"Marie…maybe there's a chance for us, but don't you think it's too soon?"

"Logan, it's not like I'm askin' you to be my boyfriend or anythin' right now," Marie said with a small smile, her southern accent (something Logan found alluring) more pronounced. "But I do want to get to know you better, even more so than I do now."

Logan looked quizzically at her. "You don't know me that well."

"Oh, I think I do," she countered. "Remember: we touched twice and I had a little of you bouncing around in here for a while." Marie tapped her skull. "There's not much left, but I do know some of what you like to eat, what you like to listen to, some movies…not to mention, what your favorite…" She leaned in and whispered in Logan's ear, whose eyes bulged and faced flushed crimson.

"Hey!" he said gruffly, taking a step back. "That's private!"

"Not my fault!" Marie said in laugh. "Though, I gotta admit, Logan, you do have a lively imagination."

Logan couldn't help shaking his head and laughing as well. "You help someone by bringing them back to life a few times and this is the thanks I get," he said in mock consternation.

Smiling, Marie stood up and wiped her pants. She then held out her hand to Logan. Reluctantly, he took it this time and stood up as well.

"Look, we don't rush things. Deal?"

"Deal."

Both started to walk toward the mansion, but as they got closer, Marie looked more and more uncomfortable.

"Actually…if you don't mind, I'd like to go someplace else for a few hours."

Logan pursed his lips but understood since he didn't quite know what he'd do to a certain ex-boyfriend as well. He then cocked an eyebrow, smiled, and then started leading Marie around the mansion.

"Where're we goin'?" she asked.

"You'll see." Logan led them to the main garage and walked in. A motorcycle sat, all polished and ready to go. He climbed onto it and handed Marie a spare helmet. She smiled, put it on and sat behind Logan. He keyed the ignition, but before he kick started the motorcycle, he looked over his shoulder.

"So, where do you want go?"

Marie snuggled closer to Logan, her arms holding on across his chest so tight as to never let go.

"To the stars," she whispered.

As if expecting no less, Logan nodded. He gunned the engine, and, after revving it a few times, raced out of the garage, the main gate at the end of the driveway opening automatically as they approached. When they hit the open road, Logan thumbed the special accelerator.

Both he and Marie rocketed forth, disappearing into the night.

-FIN-